File report on bureaucrats seeking flats for state staff, HC tells HUDA

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 7

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the HUDA Chief Administrator to respond to contentions that IAS, IPS and IFS officers could not have applied for flats in a society meant for Haryana Government employees.

Justice Daya Chaudhary asked the Chief Administrator to respond to nine contentions raised in a petition on the issue. He has been asked to submit a status report on the issues by the next date of hearing — March 13.

The HUDA Administrator will specifically inform the Bench whether IAS, IPS and IFS officers can be deemed to be state government employees and entitled to reservation in allocation of flats.

The direction came after a counsel in the multiple plot allotment case, Harmanjit Singh Sethi, contended that they were practically Central government employees and their salaries were paid by the Centre and only disbursed by the state.

Sethi had submitted that the housing society for Haryana Government employees had illegally inducted retired Judges and law officers and some office-bearers were “guilty of gross irregularities and furnishing false affidavits”.

Sethi had, on behalf of an applicant, Sunil Kumar, stated that the allottees could not own a house, flat or plot in their name or in the name of spouse or dependent children in any urban estate or colony developed by HUDA, improvement trust or municipal committee, but at least 40 members, including an IAS and an HCS officer, had plots, but were still members.

Sethi contended that the society was initially allotted 3.5 acres in Sector 27, Panchkula, under the reserved category for construction of flats and dwelling units, but it was able to procure allotment of a plot in Sector 6, Mansa Devi.

Elaborating, Sethi submitted that the property prices in an around Panchkula were very high when the plot was allotted and the office-bearers, being IAS and IPS officers, “developed a dishonest intention to get an alternative site”.

They surrendered the plot on the pretext of it being in a seismic zone, Sethi noted, adding, “It is different matter no other society or individual surrendered a plot on the flimsy ground propounded by the society”.

Sethi asserted that one of the conditions in a group housing scheme floated by HUDA in 2001 was that members should not belong to any society to which land had been allotted by HUDA in earlier schemes.

Sethi contended that despite the embargo, the society “being managed by high-ups applied for fresh allotment of plot and due to their manipulation, was able to procure allotment of plot 1, Sector 6, Mansa Devi, Panchkula district”.